Could at least a partial solution to the opioid crisis be sitting on the shelves at the local medical marijuana dispensary? A new report out of Minnesota, and one earlier this year from Israel, both found that marijuana is beneficial to people with chronic pain conditions and those suffering from cancer.

More than half the participants in the Minnesota study found that cannabis offered a high level of benefit in treating chronic pain.

In addition to alleviating pain and anxiety and improving sleep, the use of medical marijuana also led many in the studies to either reduce or eliminate the use of prescription pain medication.

Now that the bill has cleared in the state legislature, Indiana has one more obstacle to clear before legalizing CBD oil.

After action by the state legislature, Indiana has one more obstacle to clear before legalizing CBD oil. Lawmakers passed the legislation on the final day of the legislative session, at 10 p.m. The House passed Senate Bill 52 unanimously, while Senators voted in favor 36-11.

SB-52 will legalize the purchase and sale of cannabidiol (CBD) in Indiana if it passes. All products sold in the state would have to be lab tested to ensure they do not exceed 0.3 percent THC.

Because of concerns from Montana’s lawmakers, this state’s medical marijuana program might be delayed.

Montana’s legislature seems to be suffering from some last-minute indecisiveness just weeks before the state implements changes to rules governing legal medical cannabis. Slated to take effect on April 10, now this state’s medical marijuana program might be delayed.

The hangup has to do with rules governing the production end of the cannabis industry. The concern from lawmakers is that larger producers can grow so much cannabis, they’ll drive out smaller producers.

The state's new MMJ program is being delayed after two companies that were denied licenses filed a lawsuit alleging unfair review practices.

Medical marijuana cultivators in Arkansas were ready to make moves and open their canna-businesses this week, but the process has now been put on hold by a local judge, delaying the rollout of the state's new MMJ program for the foreseeable future.

State regulators were planning to formally award the first five cannabis cultivation licenses, but two applicants who failed to make the cut filed a lawsuit alleging that the state's application review process was unfair.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) holds a panel on state and national drug law each year at its employment law and legislative conference, but this year, shifts in state law — and deep tragedy — have brought the issue to the forefront.

James Reidy, attorney at Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green PA, jokingly said he’s become known as the “pot lawyer” partly thanks to the wave of marijuana laws and court precedent that has forced employers to reconsider their drug and alcohol policies and testing procedures.

At the same time, the opioid crisis continues to rout communities and is draining employers of talent and productivity dollars, prompting many into action.

Menopause marks the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms include irregular periods, mood changes, hot flashes, vaginal dryness and issues with sleeping. Most women live over a third of their life with menopause. Due to the resulting discomfort and stress and the expanding uses of medical marijuana, many are asking: can you manage the symptoms of menopause with cannabis?

Policy in Latin America governing medical cannabis use is evolving away from a blanket bar of any cannabis use. A few Central and South America countries allow use of cannabis and oils containing cannabidiol (aka “CBD”) for victims of epilepsy, appetite loss, nausea, chemotherapy-induced vomiting, or HIV/AIDS-associated pain or muscle spasms.

In recent years, some Latin American countries have reformed their controlled substances’ policy. For example, use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes is legal in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Peru. Bolivia’s Constitution recognizes use of the coca leaf.

A Texas case involving an autistic teenager's use of medical marijuana shows a shift in ideology.

In Texas recently, a family was brought to court for using cannabis to treat their 18-year-old daughter Kara Zartler with severe autism. While the issue of parents and children using medical marijuana and facing state Child Protective Services (CPS) is a concern for families nationwide, this particular case was unique because the child was not a minor.

In the wake of recent overdoses and injuries caused by Spice, one doctor says giving cannabis to prison inmates could prevent deaths.

After a string of lethal overdoses in Scottish prisons, one doctor says giving cannabis to prison inmates could prevent deaths going forward. A part of the United Kingdom, Scotland is wrestling with its own failed drug war.

The symptoms of this failure are familiar. A thriving illegal market, massive resources devoted to enforcement and incarceration and steadily increasing drug-related harm and death.

Prisoners Are “Condemned To Death” Due To Cannabis Prohibition, Expert Says

Cannabis farming dates back 10,000+ years, to the very dawn of human society—at least according to famed astronomer (and enthusiastic cannabis consumer) Carl Sagan, who once hypothesized that the plant may also have been the first species ever purposely cultivated.

In his book The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence, Sagan went so far as to opine that “it would be wryly interesting if in human history the cultivation of marijuana led generally to the invention of agriculture, and thereby to civilization.”

Cannabis Sativa plants produce and accumulate terpene-rich resin within the secretory cells of glandular trichromes [1]. Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are important components of Cannabis resin as they contribute to the unique attributes of different Cannabis strains. Terpenes are responsible for the plant’s aroma and flavour.

They possess specific medical properties and may act synergistically with cannabinoids, enhancing the therapeutic benefits of the plant. The extraction of terpenes and cannabinoids from Cannabis is a function of their solubility in different organic solvents [2]. S

Cannabidiol (CBD) is an exciting focus of medical research, popular media, and legislation related to cannabis. Its presence is becoming ubiquitous on the shelves of health food stores and search engine results for numerous medical conditions, but don’t believe everything you hear.

While CBD is an incredibly safe and therapeutic component of cannabis, there are many myths and misconceptions associated with it. Let’s take a look at a few.

Five consortiums with investment plans to cultivate cannabis for medical use, adding up to over 1 billion euros on paper, have already knocked on the door of Deputy Economy Minister Stergios Pitsiorlas.

A few days ago the Greek Parliament approved the law for the production, manufacturing and sale of medical products containing cannabis, paving the way for attracting investment in a new and largely misunderstood activity.

It remains to be seen whether the initial strong interest transforms into actual investment and whether the interested parties are long-term rather than short-term investors.

In general, developments will depend on the speed of the issue of the necessary secondary legislation and its content.

In a move sure to make medical marijuana advocates happy, the governor of Virginia approves CBD legislation bill which greatly expands the state’s medical marijuana program. Gov. Ralph Northam signed House Bill 1251 (HB-1251) on Friday, March 9. The new law also allows the use of THC-A oil to treat serious medical conditions.

The Virginia House and Senate passed the bill last month before sending it to Northam for his signature. The Senate’s version passed with a unanimous vote February 5.

A correctional officer busted smuggling synthetic weed into jail is now behind bars.

It’s typical for a correctional facility to conduct unannounced spot-searchers. Usually, these shake-downs turn up contraband among the inmates. But every so often, these searches bust a correctional officer instead.

So it was in Louisiana on Monday, where a Richwood Correctional officer busted smuggling synthetic weed into jail is now sitting behind bars himself.

Middle-class Mexicans and Americans living in Tijuana are buying legal pot in California and taking it back to Mexico. The culture of legalization, slowly but surely, may be spreading south of the border now, too.

California’s legal weed experiment is having an impact in an unexpected place: Mexico.

Cannabis culture and advocacy from California is making its way south of the border and activists there are hopeful legalization here can shift Mexico’s politics.

Middle-class Mexicans and American citizens living in Tijuana are crossing into San Diego to visit medical — and now recreational — dispensaries. Binational cannabis advocates are hosting events in Tijuana about the medical benefits of cannabis, hoping to increase support for policy changes on the drug.

In Dec. 2017, a research letter published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, reported that marijuana use among pregnant women had increased by several percent between 2009 and 2016. Reuters published a story headlined, “Pot-Smoking on the Rise Among U.S. Pregnant Women.”

The future of cannabis connoisseurship is in terpenes—not THC, according to neuroscientist Adie Poe. The co-founder and Chief Science Officer of the research group habu health recently chatted with Civilized about life in the cannabis industry, the origin of the opioid epidemic and what she would tell Donald Trump if she got 30 seconds of his time, writes James McClure.

That’s according to data released Friday by Statistics Canada based on a survey made available to Canadians over the course of a month from the end of January to the end of February.

“Canadians reported that the average price of cannabis in February was $6.83,” Statistics Canada said in the data sheet.

“Prices varied across regions with prices in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and British Columbia below the national average and prices in all other provinces and territories above the national average. Average prices were particularly high in the territories.”

Illinois Democratic candidates for governor say it's time for the state to legalize recreational marijuana, while Republican candidates oppose the idea.

Nine states and Washington, D.C, have already legalized recreational marijuana. Democrats seeking their party's nomination for governor say it's time the state follow suit, arguing the move would bring in needed revenue and would be a major step toward criminal justice reform.

MPX expands in Arizona and Hiku teams up with extraction company for oils. Here are a few deals you might have missed.

A relatively quiet week in weed closed with the revelation that Canadians reported paying less than $7 a gram for their marijuana. The data, crowd-sourced last month by Statistics Canada, is far from scientific.

But it suggests that government hopes of selling cannabis for $10 a gram might be off base, at least if it wants to undercut the existing black market. On the deals side of the industry, here are a few you may have missed.

Centers in California that offer free or low-cost marijuana to patients with pain conditions are being forced out of business by high taxes.

New regulations implemented on January 1 that legalized the recreational use of marijuana included a taxation policy that requires all businesses, including charities, to pay taxes on the market value of the cannabis they sell.

The law has been particularly harmful to ‘compassionate care’ programs, privately-funded organizations that provide free and low-cost cannabis to low-income patients with conditions such as cancer and nerve pain.

Cannabis is a flower that has grown naturally in the wild for thousands of years. It’s chocked full of chemical constituents–some of which are known as cannabinoids–that mesh with receptors throughout our body, eliciting a spectrum of mental and physical effects. THC or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is by far the most well-known of these cannabinoids, but certainly isn’t the only powerful chemical compound native to the cannabis flower. Delta-8-THC, one of the four most common cannabinoids, is similar to its psychoactive relative THC, but with several key differences.

However some advocates say these bills are an attempt to undermine support for an upcoming ballot measure, which could create a more inclusive MMJ program in the state.

The Utah state Senate has given preliminary approval to a set of bills that would allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis. The first of these bills, HB195, would give any patient that has less than six months to live the “right to try” medical cannabis, but not in a form that could be smoked or otherwise inhaled. The second bill, HB197, would allow the state Department of Agriculture to grow cannabis for these approved patients.

States around the country — 29 of them, plus Washington DC — have legalized medical marijuana.

The American public largely supports the legalization of medical marijuana. At least 84% of the public believes the drug should be legal for medical uses, and recreational pot usage is less controversial than ever, with at least 61% of Americans in support.

Since medical marijuana was legalized in Germany in March last year, an increasing number of patients are being prescribed the drug. But the healthcare industry has been less enthusiastic about the boom and many questions have gone unanswered.

Demand for cannabis has shot up since it was legalized about a year ago. Around 44,000 units of the plant covered by health insurance were distributed to patients in 2017, according to figures from the pharmacy association ABDA which were recently shown to the German Press Agency (DPA).

Thanks to a proposed change, smokable medical marijuana could come to Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program became law back in April 2016, yet sales of the drug only began last month, on February 15th. In the nearly two years between, state officials built the regulatory framework for the new industry and certified patients, caregivers and dispensaries.

But less than a month after dispensaries opened their doors, major changes to the program are already under consideration. While the law currently prohibits the sale of dry herbaceous cannabis, smokable medical marijuana could come to Pennsylvania as soon as this summer.

In a word, no. For people without a state-issued medical cannabis card, cannabis possession and use are illegal in New York State, and in New York City.

In New York City, possession of cannabis has been decriminalized but not legalized. Possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis may result in a $100 violation (similar to a traffic ticket) for a first offense. A second offense is $200, a third offense is $250 and a possible 15-day stint in jail.

Public use (“burning”) is a misdemeanor punishable by a $250 fine and up to 90 days in jail.

Let’s face it, not everybody is a fan of cannabis-infused edibles. No matter how hard you try to mask that signature cannabis flavor, an aftertaste or odor is often still detectable in many infused products. Solving the flavor problem is no easy task, but a new preparation may offer a solution.

Flavorless, odorless, and with a faster time of onset, dissolvable cannabinoid powder is an innovation that has the potential to change the edibles landscape from here on out. But what exactly are dissolvable cannabinoids, how are they made, and what value can they offer?

Medical cannabis oil in Pennsylvania is currently more expensive than gold, with a gram costing anywhere from $80 to $144.

Pennsylvania's first cannabis dispensaries opened their doors last month, two years after legislators approved a limited medical marijuana law allowing qualifying patients to purchase cannabis oils, pills, or vape cartridges.

The rollout has been anything but smooth, however, as dispensaries soon found themselves unable to meet the demand for medical cannabis, causing prices to skyrocket.

Since cannabis is being used for medical purposes in more than half of the United States, should doctors take over the cannabis industry?

The legal cannabis industry is still figuring itself out as it goes. Right now, the movers and shakers of the industry are still laying the foundation. What shape do we want the weed industry to take?

Who should be the leaders of this new industry? Should doctors take over the cannabis industry? Alternatively, should we look at it as strictly a business venture dominated by businesspeople? Or something else entirely?

Legislators in Greece have approved a bill to regulate medical cannabis cultivation and distribution.

On March 1, lawmakers voted in favour of the bill, which will allow licensed businesses to cultivate and process cannabis for medical purposes. Land for cultivation must be at least 4,000 square metres in size and secured by fencing.

The fight for smokable medical marijuana in Florida goes to court in May. Medical cannabis activists are suing the state to get a ban on smokable cannabis overturned. People United for Medical Marijuana (PUFMM) filed the suit in July of last year. According to sources, Leon County Judge Karen Gievers set a trial date of May 16 in the case. Judge Gievers will hear and decide the case without the help of a jury.

The Cole Memo was a policy memo created during the Obama administration that mostly protected marijuana-legal states from federal scrutiny. Now the Trump administration, via U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has decided to rescind that guidance. Many observers across the political spectrum concur that the decision will heighten uncertainty in an industry seeking stability.

James Cole (now a partner at the white shoe law firm Sidley Austin in Washington, DC) was the deputy attorney general in 2013 and wrote the memo, which instructed U.S. attorneys to focus on drug cartels and cross-border trafficking, not marijuana outlets complying with state regulatory schemes.

Cannabis is going global and these six entrepreneurs are leading the charge.

As thousands of entrepreneurs scramble to make a buck off legalized marijuana, six CEOs leading Canada's largest cannabis companies have already put their plans for global domination into action.

Among them are two American venture capitalists who decided cannabis is the next big thing. There is also the longtime CEO of a vitamin company, an investment banker who was in charge of business development at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, and a hockey dad who started out as an electrician.

What they share is a belief that the regulated system in Canada gives them a competitive head start as marijuana laws around the world evolve and new markets open up.

With the State of Michigan on the verge of handing out its first licenses for medical marijuana businesses later this month, one of the biggest potential participants could get sidelined from the lucrative business.

The City of Detroit, which, at one point, had more than 250 medical marijuana dispensaries operating in the city, is caught in a legal morass, battling the people — and the voters — who had hoped to open up the city for an exciting, if somewhat controversial, new industry.

At stake is a piece of what is estimated to be a $711-million business that could exceed $1 billion if the legalization of marijuana for adult recreational use gets on the November ballot and is approved by voters.

A federal judge in Philadelphia is considering whether to take a case that could have an enormous impact on the medical marijuana industry nationwide.

The case involves a dispensary permitted for Philadelphia Mills in the Northeast.

Pharma Cann got a state permit and city approval to open in a former Chi-Chi’s near the Mall, but mall operator, Simon Property, sued in federal court to block it from opening.

It claims the deed forbids “illegal activity” and that would include the dispensary, since marijuana is illegal under federal law.

Pharma Cann wants the issue resolved in Common Pleas Court, arguing it’s simply a case of an outdated restrictive covenant. Its attorney, Jeremy Unruh, says Simon’s attempt to make it a federal case is unduly excessive.

Two medical marijuana dispensaries in Pennsylvania have run out of supplies — less than two weeks after the state launched its new medical marijuana program.

“We have no inventory,” Chris Visco, TerraVida Holistic Center co-owner in Bucks County, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. He said the only supplies the dispensary had left onThursday morning were vape pens.

Keystone Shops, a dispensary in Devon, posted a notice on its website saying it was closed until more products arrive.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation initially said these products were illegally derived from marijuana, but later admitted that their tests could not support this claim.

Tennessee law enforcement have dismissed all charges against local stores accused of selling CBD edibles that were allegedly "laced with marijuana." Last month, a task force of local, state, and federal law enforcement launched "Operation Candy Crush," raiding 23 stores in Rutherford County and seizing CBD edibles.

Medical marijuana doesn't exist as far as the federal government is concerned. That's the message US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar shared with reporters yesterday, writes James McClure.

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